Elected 2022-2023 Board of Directors

Sara Taliaferro PRESIDENT

Sara is a natural science illustrator, artist, and social and environmental advocate who writes and visually communicates the story of science to an ever-diversifying audience about basic biology, water conservation, and climate change. She runs her own business, Happy Beetle Studio. Sara worked for Museum of Natural History and Biodiversity Institute at the University of Kansas for over six years with Dr. James S. Ashe, a specialist on Aleocharine beetles, Family Staphilinidae, and taught Scientific Illustration through the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas.

The GNSI has been an enriching part of her career that began with drawing minuscule brown beetles. She has served as Education Director, on the Nominating Committee, and has been involved in the GNSI Oral History Project. She was the Chair of the 2002 and 2013 GNSI Annual Conferences and was one of the founding members and longtime officer of the GNSI Great Plains Chapter. She is the 2012 recipient of the GNSI Distinguished Service Award. 

Deb Shaw VICE PRESIDENT

Deborah Shaw has a degree in fine art from Pomona College, The Claremont Colleges, where she also studied botany and native California flora. Her work has been displayed in juried and non-juried exhibitions around the world and is in permanent and private collections. In addition to running dbShaw Studios, she teaches botanical art, illustration, information design, and digital design and illustration.

Deb is a long-time member and has had an active hand in building the GNSI conference websites for a number of years.

Robin Carlson TREASURER

Robin Lee Carlson is a natural science illustrator with a particular interest in how landscapes and ecological communities change over time. Her work is currently focused on ecosystem dynamics after disruption, especially how species and habitats respond to wildfire and changing fire regimes in the West. Robin has illustrated interpretive panels, posters, informational backdrops, species and habitat information cards, and playground equipment. Clients include the UC Natural Reserve System, the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County, Caltrans, and the Oregon Marine Reserves Partnership.

Robin’s educational background is in science, with a Master’s in Organismal Biology and Anatomy from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor’s in Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She spent sixteen years working for the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, managing projects tracking and analyzing stream habitat restoration projects for salmon and steelhead.

Robin has been a member of GNSI since 2015. She chaired the 2016 annual conference in Santa Cruz, California and has been actively involved in conferences since, serving as the Conference Oversight Committee Chair in 2018/2019 and as the Finance Coordinator for the 2020 and 2021 virtual annual conferences.

Gloria Fuentes EDUCATION DIRECTOR

However, most of her scientific career she has been working at the intersection of Structural Computational Biology and Biomedicine. Her life as a researcher has taken her to different countries as diverse as the UK, The Netherlands, Spain, Singapore and Japan. These experiences have given her an eclectic way of understanding her science and life. 

After her maternity, she decided to make some changes as well in her professional life and dove into the illustration and animation world to combine her fascination for science with her passion for more artistic avenues. She committed herself to solving the scientific communication problem between her former peers and society. Her motto is: “Let’s unleash creativity to bridge the gap between science and society. If I can illustrate it, you can understand it.”

Gloria’s work can be found here: thevisualthinker.xyz

Wendy Beth Jackelow MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR

Wendy Beth Jackelow is a Staten Island-based artist and sole proprietor of her medical and scientific illustration business for over 25 years. Her work combines her interest in science with a love of art. She is an active member of the Association of Medical Illustrators where she is on the Membership Committee, serves as the book reviewer for the AMI Newsletter, and is the secretary of the Vesalius Trust, a nonprofit that supports research and education in biomedical visual communications. Her GNSI membership has not lapsed since she was a college student.

While running her studio, Wendy has incorporated a fine art practice that includes printmaking (etching, monotype), painting (watercolor, oil paint), and drawing. In 2021, she was awarded a NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Premier Grant for her project, Paint the Town: Castleton Avenue Art Show and Merchant Stroll. This past year, she was the recipient of a NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Art Fund Grant for her latest project, Staten Island Printmakers—Show and Printmaking Forum.

Wendy received an M.F.A. in Medical Illustration from the Rochester Institute of Technology. She is a Board Certified Medical Illustrator and Fellow of the Association of Medical Illustrators. Her office is in the attic of a very old house where she resides with her two sons and musician/programmer husband.

Wendy’s work can be found here: www.wbjackelowstudios.com

Madison Mayfield OUTREACH DIRECTOR

Madison Mayfield is a scientific illustrator, freelance taxidermist, and natural history museum professional. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Ecology & Conservation Biology as well as a certificate in Natural History Illustration from the University of Washington. For the past two years, she worked as a natural history preparator at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane, Australia, and currently resides in Seattle, WA where she works full-time as a freelancer. Whether it’s through illustration or taxidermy, she uses her work to communicate science to the public and is extremely passionate about encouraging the use of art in science.

Madison has been a GNSI member since 2017 and served as the Volunteer Coordinator for the 2019 GNSI Annual Conference in Australia.

Stephen DiCerbo RECORDING SECRETARY

Stephen DiCerbo has been a member of the Guild since the year 2000. Armed with an AAS degree in Fish and Wildlife Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Science Illustration, he has traveled through the past several decades searching for understanding and expression in the realm of Natural Science. He is a freelance technical scientific illustrator and a nature artist that specializes in ichthyology, but works in most macro-biological areas. He also has a strong background in engineering, drafting, and survey/mapping.

Stephen is a certified Master Gyotaku printmaker and has taught this Japanese folk art printing form at several past GNSI Conferences. Residing in the Adirondack Mountains of Northern New York, he is a member of the Finger Lakes Chapter of the GNSI.

Stephen’s work can be found here: stormtreestudio.com  

Kalliopi Monoyios PAST PRESIDENT

Kalliopi (Kapi) Monoyios is a visual creative dedicated to communicating the wonder of the natural world to a wide and varied audience. She has an A.B. degree in geology from Princeton University. Her illustrations have appeared inside and on the covers of top peer-review journals as well as in three New York Times best-selling popular non-fiction books, including Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin. In 2011, she co-founded Symbiartic, a blog on the intersection of science and art for Scientific American. Now, driven by the conviction that science communicators operating in all spheres are a critical part of creating a scientifically literate public, she is developing new avenues of public engagement with science via her own art and curated exhibits.

Kapi joined the GNSI in 2002. She served on the Education Fund Committee for 9 years, contributed to many annual conferences in various roles, and was the Guild’s first Social Media Coordinator. In 2018 she was honored with GNSI’s Special Projects Award for these contributions.  

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